


Perfect

by astrxd



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Episode "To Heather or Not to Heather", F/M, JUST FLUFF REALLY, Takes place during RttE Season 3, no major spoilers though!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 15:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7321342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrxd/pseuds/astrxd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Cross-posted to my tumblr!] In Episode 7 of Season 3 of Race to the Edge, Heather confronted Astrid about her feelings and relationship with Hiccup. Her words stick around with Astrid for the rest of the day.</p><p>‘Life is too short,’ Heather said. ‘You need to express your feelings,’ Heather said. ‘Stop wasting time,’ Heather said. </p><p>‘You two are perfect,’ Heather said.</p><p>Later that evening, Astrid pays Hiccup a visit... And she brings up Heather.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> [Request submitted by Anonymous on tumblr: RTTE season 3 was amazing! Can I please have a drabble after Heather tells Astrid to talk to Hiccup about how she feels and Astrid decides to tell Hiccup? I would love to see your take on how you think it would have went! #hiccstrid]

‘ _Life is too short,’_ Heather said.

‘ _You need to express your feelings,’_ Heather said.

‘ _Stop wasting time,’_ Heather said.

‘ _You two are_ perfect,’ Heather said.

‘Oh, if only you knew,’ Astrid _could_ have said.

Even well after they managed to divert another pack of Deadly Nadders off of their original migration course, _and_ after finally getting to sit down for a proper dinner, Heather’s words echoed clearly in her mind. They made Astrid’s pulse thrum just a little bit quicker- especially when she pondered what Hiccup would say when she told him.

Of course, an evening alone with him had to wait until Heather was asleep. That had to be the only downside to having her share her hut, honestly. While Astrid had no problem with stealth- she could easily sneak out without being noticed (that side door was present for a reason)- it _did_ help that Heather was much too tired from her trip to the Edge to spend much time making conversation.

As soon as she was sound asleep. Astrid made a silent break for the door- and she successfully did so without stirring Heather. Her expression glowed with prideful satisfaction as she swiftly made her way over to Hiccup’s hut, and it remained there until she arrived.

Her braid was undone and she was lacking her skirt, armor, and forearm wraps, leaving her in just a tunic purposed as sleepwear and a pair of cropped leggings. Though she was usually against people seeing her without this extra wall of protection, the layer of armor that kept people out and away, it was _different_ with Hiccup. The other riders- Heather included- just didn’t know that.

Not that she had a problem with their lack of knowledge regarding such a thing.

When she arrived at Hiccup’s hut, she rapped her knuckles on the door in a rhythmic succession. The special pattern of taps and knocks, known exclusively by the two of them, was used in many ways. Sometimes, they’d discreetly tap out the short beat against one another’s knee or shoulder or something as a silent message of affection, but for the most part, it was used it to alert each other of their presences outside of their respective huts.

Seeing as the door was unlocked, Astrid let herself in. It didn’t seem as if Hiccup heard her, as he was seated on the edge of his bed. His prosthetic leg was in his hands as he fiddled with the place where metal met wood, though his eyes flipped up to meet her when she shut the door behind her.

“Astrid,” he greeted. Immediately, a broad smile overtook his previously focused expression. “I was, uh, sort of expecting you not to show up.” Hiccup’s tone was mildly sheepish as he bent down to hastily attempt to reattach his leg. Astrid, however, quickly crossed the room to stand before him and place a hand on his shoulder. He paused, and she gave him a pointed look- with a small, jokingly exasperated- but evidently grateful- sigh, Hiccup set it back down.

“Sorry, I had to wait until she was asleep,” she briefly explained, while setting her other hand on his other shoulder. Hiccup’s arms looped comfortably around her waist as she remained standing, the position sending a wave of warm familiarity to sweep through her system. It was late, and they were evidently both tired (that flock of Nadders was particularly stubborn), but as Astrid dropped her forehead to rest against his, all of the soreness in her muscles seemed to melt away.

She looked forward to these moments- so much. They allowed her time to unwind and relax; they let them _both_ momentarily forget about the impending threats posed by the scheming Dragon Hunters.

Keyword being _momentarily._ It wasn’t rare for their evening rendezvous to turn into strategic discussions about their next moves, but Astrid intended for it to be different that night. She wanted to talk- just not about Viggo and his Hunters.

Hiccup tugged Astrid closer, so that her legs were pressing against the edge of the bed while he stayed seated. She slid her hands onto either side of his neck, her thumbs gently tracing his jawline. Both of their eyes had been slipped shut for the time being, but when Astrid pulled away to push back her _boyfriend’s_ hair in order to kiss his forehead, he sighed quietly and looked up at her.

“M’glad you’re here,” he murmured, offering her a sleepy smile as he rubbed comforting circles into her lower back.

“You and me both,” Astrid snorted in response, threading her fingers through his hair. “Busy day, huh?”

“Don’t I know it,” he sighed. His fingers toyed with the loose ends of her wavy hair and Astrid’s heart surged forward at their comfortable, practiced intimacy. Behind closed doors, it was always like this- there was no need to keep their relationship under wraps. The blonde stooped down and pressed her lips to his, all because she _could._

And Odin, did she love it.

He returned the kiss with equal fervor, tilting his head into a better angle while Astrid tugged gently on the little braids sticking out from the nape of his neck. When she pulled away, she lingered close enough to let their breath mingle.

Then Heather’s words rang throughout her mind again, and a laugh bubbled forth from her lips. Hiccup stared up at her, slightly concerned; the worry on his face only deepened when she didn’t stop snickering.

It was just… _funny._

“Astrid?” He asked, furrowing his brow and pursing his lips. “Why- why are you--”

“Don’t look so stressed out,” Astrid insisted between puffs of laughter. “Everything’s fine, babe.” She passed her thumb over the valley between his brows in attempt to smother the crease there, before stepping around Hiccup to climb atop the bed to sit at the head of it, and gestured for him to sit beside her. Hiccup released an exasperated sigh as he swung his legs over the bed and joined her.

“You’re so _cryptic_ sometimes,” he grumbled. He positioned himself at her side, leaning his back against the headboard of the bed. Astrid only laughed again as she twisted her person to face him, while simultaneously reaching out to take both of his hands into her own.

“You love it,” she said, issuing his palms a gentle squeeze.

“ _Aaaanyway,”_ Hiccup drawled.

“Right, _anyway,_ ” Astrid said, mimicking his tone and rolling her eyes. They gleamed impishly as she recalled her earlier conversation with Heather, the way she was so thoroughly convinced that Astrid _didn’t_ already know that she and Hiccup were meant to be together.

She did know. That much had become impossibly clear to her over the course of the past few years of building up a friendship with the Haddock sitting in front of her. Some warriors could see feelings and significant others as burdens, but Astrid…  
  
Such things just gave her more momentum to push herself harder.

“I was talking to Heather earlier today,” Astrid hummed, idly playing with long, nimble fingers in her hands. Hiccup’s brow slowly arched up at her, as if he already knew where this was going. He probably did. “And she was trying to talk me into confessing my unadulterated, undying love to you.”

Hiccup barked out a laugh, but Astrid quickly hushed him.

“She did _not_ say that,” he snorted, shaking his head- and his shoulders. “At least, not like _that._ I, I think you’re picking up on my… hm, _theatrics,_ Astrid.”

“I’m serious!” She insisted, her amused grin mirroring Hiccup’s own. “She _basically_ said that. I’m paraphrasing for you.”

“No, no, no, don’t paraphrase. Tell me what she said- word for word. I wanna hear this.” Hiccup leaned forward, shifting to cross his legs while Astrid scooted around to properly sit in front of him.

“‘Life is too short,’” Astrid quoted slowly.

Hiccup nodded, and leaned in to press his forehead to hers.

“‘You need to express your feelings.’”

His hands slipped out of her grasp, then he reached out to let them settle on her back.

“‘Stop wasting time,’” Astrid breathed, sliding her hands onto broad shoulders. She inched forward, curling her fingers in the material of his tunic as she claimed a new seat atop his lap. Hiccup snorted.

“Was that you or Heather speaking?”

“Both. Now, shut up and let me finish,” she responded, before threading her fingers through auburn locks.

“As milady wishes,” he chirped, before hovering his lips only centimeters in front of her own. It would have been so easy to just _kiss him,_ but Astrid’s thoughts digressed.

“‘You two are perfect for each other,’” she concluded, voice just barely above a whisper as her eyes stared deep into forest green pools. There were faint rings of dark circles swooping beneath his eyes, along with a generous smattering of freckles that Astrid would have had perfectly memorized- if not for all of the new ones that would crop up from time to time. She slid her hands up to the sides of his face and rubbed her thumb against the evidence of his poor sleeping habits. A frown tugged at her lips, but Hiccup noticed, and he made an attempt to kiss it away.

(It didn’t work.)

“I agree with her,” he hummed, brushing the tip of his nose against hers. Astrid wrinkled it, refusing to submit to his attempts to distract her. “You _are_ perfect.”

“You haven’t been sleeping,” Astrid announced firmly, glossing over the words of praise that had made her heart surge and her stomach flutter. It was so obvious- perhaps the other riders never noticed, as they didn’t look closely enough, but Astrid… She was different. She _saw_ these things.

“Yeah, well, what else is new?” Hiccup responded, lifting a hand to tuck a stray strand of blonde locks behind her ear, before leaning into her touch. “That was a legitimate question, though. Anything new?”

“We can talk about it later,” Astrid said, shaking her head slightly. As much as she hated constantly putting off their time with one another, it was inevitable- there was always something more important that needed to be tended to.

Not that _they_ weren’t important. The only reason she was postponing casual, catch-up conversation was because she valued Hiccup too much to let him run himself into the ground.

The blonde scooted off of Hiccup, not pleased with the sudden lack of warmth his body heat provided, but completely understanding of where her duties were. Her feet touched the wooden planks of his hut’s floor, and while Hiccup didn’t verbally protest, he _did_ hold on to her hand and frowned deeply at her.

“You always say _later,”_ Hiccup said, squeezing her hand. “Why?”

Astrid only smiled gently and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Because _you_ need to get some _sleep_ for once,” she responded, while tossing his blanket into his lap. “If you sleep now, you can wake up early and join me on morning patrol, alright?”

He nodded, but didn’t look very pleased. Instead, he held her hand tighter.

“ _Or_ you could spend the night here.”

Astrid considered it. Heather would probably be up early, but Astrid could always say that she was up _earlier._ It’s not as if she’d corner her and interrogate her about why she was missing from her own hut that morning, anyway.

She ended up crawling into bed, swaddled beneath thin, wool and pressed flush against her boyfriend. As she looped her arms around him and dropped her cheek to rest on his chest.

“By the way,” she murmured, as Hiccup pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I think you’re perfect, too.” Astrid felt his lips twitch into a smile against her head.

Both of them slept soundly that night, the word ‘perfect’ echoing through their minds.


End file.
